Fortunately, Minerva had only suffered bruises, no breaks or fractures.
Pain was still pain, though.
Navia offered her an anesthetic.
The anesthetic not only eased pain but also acted as an anti-inflammatory.
"I'm fine...! Oh, you should use it, Miss."
"I can endure. Besides, I hate seeing Minerva in pain more."
Minerva was momentarily speechless at Navia's drooping eyebrows and her words.
'Miss is using her beauty again...!'
This meant she had no choice but to comply willingly.
"Yes..."
As soon as she replied, Navia smiled broadly.
'Why is Miss so happy about treating my wound?'
Minerva scratched her cheek for no reason.
The misery she had felt like falling into hell had passed like a brief nightmare.
A fluffy medicine seemed to be sprinkled on the wound in her heart.
'Can bad feelings disappear this quickly?'
Usually, once bad feelings began, they lasted until she was exhausted, gradually calming down while confined in her room.
Was that why?
"I am an illegitimate child of the Hart family."
She was able to talk about her story with a calm heart.
Both of them looked at Minerva.
"I've always learned things quickly. Especially medicine... I like making clothes and accessories, but I was often scolded for acting like the working class... to behave at least like the gentry."
Minerva's genius was evident from a young age.
Because of this, although she was a bastard, the Hart family brought her in and sent her to the academy. They wanted to train her as a doctor.
Being a bastard, Minerva was despised by her family and bullied at the academy.
Her current stuttering habit had become fixed back then.
"I'm fine now. The master took me in when I had nowhere to go and gave me work..."
"This medicine, only you can make it."
Lark had casually said this, throwing her a recipe for a medicine she had never made before.
It was Minerva's first salvation.
"This place is now my home..."
She said this and laughed happily.
Navia quietly listened to Minerva, then hesitated.
'Bond.'
She felt the bond between her and the Eseled family. The bond she had also longed for...
Suddenly, Margaret hugged Minerva tightly.
"!"
Then she spread her other arm and said to Navia.
"Come here too, Navia."
Navia blinked in surprise.
"Come on."
At Margaret's gentle urging, Navia approached them somewhat hesitantly.
Margaret hugged both of them tightly and said.
"A hug is the best comfort."
Isn't it?
Hug and comfort.
Words so warm and soft, they seemed to melt from the tip of the tongue.
Navia stiffened at this awkwardly adorable act.
Minerva was the same.
"Right."
Then Minerva stretched her arms roundly and hugged Margaret and Navia.
Navia hesitated and then extended her small arms on both sides.
'Right. I was definitely comforted by this hug.'
The day she asked them for help, when she felt like falling off a cliff, Margaret had hugged her tightly and comforted her.
The hug surprisingly calmed her mind and gave her a sense of security. Just as Margaret said, it seemed like the best form of comfort.
Navia told Minerva how she, too, had been comforted by Margaret.
"You said it well."
Minerva nodded slowly.
Tears flowed again.
This time, it wasn't because of inferiority or despair.
It was as if the pieces of ice lodged in her heart were melting and flowing quietly down her cheeks.
Navia noticed Minerva's small sobs and patted her back.
It was what Margaret had done for her.
Navia looked down.
When Minerva had taken the two maids out earlier, their eyes and atmosphere were so bad that she followed them late.
They turned out to be much worse than she thought.
'They weren't amateurs at tormenting others.'
It was meticulous.
They had been selected to break an eight-year-old girl thoroughly, with malicious and cruel hearts.
And that's how Minerva had become another sacrificial lamb, caught up in the turmoil.
'We can't afford any trouble. We need to take care of this quickly.'
Occasionally, Navia felt as if the world lay in her hands.
It was a delusion of omnipotence.
But it wasn't true.
Navia was a powerful regressor, yet a vulnerable individual.
An individual couldn't defeat a group.
That's why she realized quite early that forming a group was most advantageous for survival.
However, in a world where yesterday's ally could become tomorrow's enemy, it was even more likely that an ally from a past life could become an enemy in this one.
Navia finally understood.
The only one she could trust was herself.
'Of course, it would be foolish to hastily assume that Minerva is a bad person or that she will betray me.'
But not anticipating it would be even more foolish.
Without such calculations, Navia wouldn't have died eight times already.
That's why she suddenly felt a sense of disillusionment.
'Is this really living?' she wondered.
Navia had her own principles.
Not to give.
Not to take.
To cooperate for mutual benefit.
'That's the least likely way to be betrayed and to suffer losses.'
But the warmth she was sharing now both comforted Navia and made her feel a deep fatigue.
This action, contradicting her own ways, troubled her again.
Margaret gently reminded her.
There were people who would help if she asked.
A hug might not solve problems, but it could provide comfort.
These were things a past Navia had longed for.
But now, she wasn't sure.
Navia closed her eyelids briefly, as if to sigh.
Then Minerva spoke in a slightly choked voice.
"I'm really okay now."
Minerva said with a small smile, her nose reddened.
"But what about your broken glasses? Will you be okay?"
In response to Navia's question, Minerva nodded.
"Oh, I have more glasses in my room. And, I need to go see my master, Miss."
Margaret also stood up to leave.
"I'll come when lunch is ready. Rest well until then."
"Yes, Miss Margaret."
After they left, Navia walked sluggishly to her bed and lay down.
All her activities had ceased, leaving nothing to do for the moment. Yesterday had been bustling, but now it was eerily quiet.
'Eseled is definitely a bit too silent.'
Yet even in the bustling Duke Agnes's residence, Navia had been alone.
She had been quite distant before holding hands with Charlotte.
'I wonder if Charlotte managed to escape?'
Her thoughts then shifted to Edward.
"Once the cure is announced, society will buzz with excitement."
Naturally, such good national news would invigorate the economy.
Diana would surely benefit greatly, which must be thrilling.
'The tickets for the magic train, expensive as they are, always sold like hotcakes. The competition will get even fiercer now.'
Currently, the magic train ran once a day, back and forth, with a maximum capacity of 30 passengers.
With Agnes, she planned to expand it to four round trips a day, carrying up to 70 passengers each time.
The tickets were worth their weight in gold, but for the wealthy nobles with ample time and nothing to do, it was an affordable expense.
Nobles generally had plenty of leisure time, living off taxes from their inherited lands.
They eased their boredom with gatherings, and some even ventured into business.
But even they would find less to do in the winter, especially when husbands and sons went hunting.
For these noblewomen, 'train travel' became a new and attractive trend.
It was the flow of a new era brought by the magic train.
Navia planned to ride this wave with a business bound to succeed.
'But for that, I need initial capital.'
The funds for the business were to come from a settlement she had already received.
Navia only planned to create a useful business and receive a fixed salary from it.
'Taking a percentage as royalty or something like that would be absurd.'
She was only eight years old.
And without a guardian.
Taking a piece of the pie without the power to protect it was suicidal.
Even if she wasn't young, just receiving a salary was better.
Which noble wouldn't do the same, given the chance to pocket all the profits with just one hush payment?
'Anyway, what I'm planning isn't the end of it.'
She had never exaggerated when she said she was worth her salt.
'It's just that all this depends on the Duke changing his mind.'
Maybe if she found something to improve his mood, it would work out?
Navia waited for Suleiman to bring her overcoat and shoes.
Only then could she go out.
'I can't wait to grow up.'
To hide in a quiet place, untouched by others, living comfortably until death.
Perhaps her ultimate goal in this life was to 'die convincingly'?
For that, she needed to deal with Theorban's maids, let Eseled go to some extent, and be prepared to escape.
"It's too busy..."
Navia closed her eyes with a sigh.
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